Eni expands operations in the Middle East

Italian oil giant Eni recently expanded its operations in the Middle East with four new engineering and construction contracts in Qatar and Libya. The deals carried out in Libya have an aggregate valu

Italian oil giant Eni recently expanded its operations in the Middle East with four new engineering and construction contracts in Qatar and Libya. The deals carried out in Libya have an aggregate value of $1.4 billion.

In Qatar, Snamprogetti, the engineering and main contracting company of Eni, was awarded a turnkey contract to implement a fourth train for the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the Ras Laffan complex in Qatar.

The new plant will provide additional capacity to the two existing LNG trains which currently produce 6,6 million tons of LNG annually. At the Ras Laffan Complex, Snamprogetti is also implementing the third train with a capacity of 4.7 million tons per year of LNG, as a result of a contract awarded in 2001.

Activities in Qatar also include a deal with the Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Co. (RasGas) for the long-term purchase of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the Spanish market. RasGas will supply to Eni the equivalent of about one bcm annually of natural gas beginning from the second quarter 2004, for 20 years.

In Libya, Snamprogetti was awarded a turnkey contract for the construction of a grass-root gas treatment plant at Mellitah, on the Libyan coast at about 80 kilometers West of Tripoli. Eni’s construction subsidiary Saipem will carry out two major pipeline contracts linking Mellitah to Gela, Sicily.

Eni’s presence in the Middle East dates back to 1957, when Société Irano-Italienne des Pétroles (SIRIP), was established between the Italian company and The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). Since then Eni has carried out projects in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Algeria. — (menareport.com)